Podcasting For Authors

Welcome to the seventh episode of Podcasting for Authors. In the last episode, I shared some things to help you with your first recording session. I covered some best practices regarding microphone techniques as well as choosing and treating your recording space. Now that you’ve recorded your first episode, we now move into the post-production phase, which includes: Audio editing Audio processing (mixing and mastering) Writing show notes Creating graphics Promotion via social media, email, etc. In this episode, I’m going to focus on the audio editing and processing aspects of this. In the next episode, I share some things you can do regarding promotion, which will touch on show notes and graphics as well. Choose your editing approach  I have edited my own podcasts since 2013 and have been editing for other people since 2015. There is a wide variety of thoughts and approaches to editing podcasts, and I’ve seen quite a bit. There are those that are extremely minimal in their philosophy - they just want to re

Welcome to Podcasting for Authors. We have covered a lot of basics about podcasting to help you get started. The first four episodes really help set the groundwork for your podcast and episode 5 gives you an overview of the tech side. Today, we’ll be talking about the actual recording process, including your recording environment and mic technique.   Proper preparation  As we get started talking about recording your podcast, one of the best things to do is to properly prepare for the recording session. It’s not enough to just sit down, grab the microphone, and talk. All the things we’ve covered before will help make this a smoother process. Having notes or a script ready will help a lot. If you have a guest, prep them beforehand about what to expect. Being prepared beforehand will not only make the recording process smoother, but it’ll also help with the post-production. You shouldn’t have to make as many edits afterwards, which can make that part much easier. Also, double or triple check that you are recordi

105: Podcasting Equipment Welcome to the fifth episode of Podcasting for Authors. Today, we’ll actually be jumping in and talking about about the equipment. When I say “equipment,” it’s even broader to include: Microphones Headphones Audio mixers Digital recorders Software It doesn’t haven’t to be expensive I have heard of many people getting into podcasting and jump in, buying a ton of expensive equipment. While I can admire the desire to get “the best” right away, many times it’s not necessary. Hopefully, I can help give you a better understanding of what is available and what you might actually need. As we go through, I’ll mention several options at varying price points. But you can also count on the fact that I won’t recommend anything that I either haven’t used personally or have had good reviews from podcasters I thoroughly trust. Headphones I want to start with headphones because these can make or break your podcast if you are doing anything but a solo show. And headphones can be either over the ear,

Welcome to the fourth episode of Podcasting for Authors. Today, we’ll finally jumping into actually prepping for your first podcast episode. Also, preparing for a podcast episode is probably similar to work that you do as an author, so you should be able to translate your current skills easily. Of course, the things we cover today will also help you as you prepare all your future episodes. Your first episode For the first episode, many times people will create an episode that talks about you as the host as well as what the podcast is about. Many even make this an episode 0. I’ve done this several times myself. Another way to approach the first episode is to lead with value. In other words, just jump into the first, most important topic that your audience needs. You can include a little bit about yourself and the purpose of the podcast, but this method minimize that. Either way you choose to go, you still want to make sure that the content is valuable to your audience. Choose the topic This can be one of the e

Welcome to the third episode of Podcasting for Authors. In the first episode, we covered a lot of the basics - and mostly mental exercises. We looked at the importance of knowing your audience, your why, your goal, and brainstorming for your topic. In the last episode, we talked about your podcast title, cover artwork, and media hosting options. Today, we’ll be exploring different formats you can choose from for your podcast. There are a couple basic options: Solo show Interview show Co-host show Round-table Choose your approach Before you actually choose a specific format, you’ll need decide how you want to approach your podcast. As an author, you are likely to want to showcase your own expertise. Many times, a solo show can be best for this; but there could be ways to utilize other methods to demonstrate your expertise with the other formats. The key is to consider this thought as you decide. I share some thoughts on ways to leverage each of these to showcase your expertise with interview formats. Solo sh

Welcome to the second episode of Podcasting for Authors. In the last episode, we covered a lot of the basics - and mostly mental exercises. We looked at the importance of knowing your audience, your why, your goal, and brainstorming for your topic. Today, we’ll be looking at your podcast title, cover artwork, and media hosting options. Podcast Title The title for your podcast is an important thing to consider. For this, it may be obvious to you if you are basing the podcast on a book you wrote, but here are some things to consider first. The most important thing is how the title relates and appears to your audience. The title may be obvious to you and loyal followers, but maybe it involves some inside joke or information that an “outsider” may not quickly resonate with. Make sure that your title: Relates to your audience (refer back to ep 101) Clearly conveys the topic of your podcast without being too long Can fit onto the artwork and be clearly read (more on this later) You’ll want to avoid these mistakes

Welcome to the first episode of Podcasting for Authors. This first season will have 10 episodes. Most people looking into podcasting usually want to look at and talk about the tech aspects: Microphones Mixers Software Other gadgets We will definitely cover these in future episodes, but the best place to start is with brainstorming and mental preparation. As an author, you may already have some of these in place, but it’s best to check it anyway rather than to assume something and be wrong. Know your audience The first and most important thing is your audience. At this point, you may or may not have an audience already. No matter what your current status is, you need to figure out and understand who exactly you are trying to reach. This is a process of being very specific. Saying that you are targeting males 18-80 that love fishing is not good enough. Here is one thought to help you: your target audience is one person. Not one kind of person. One person. Here’s some questions to help you get started: What i

Whether you are publishing independently or through a publishing company, you need to be continually expanding your reach. Podcasting is a fantastic way to bring your knowledge and influence, engage your audience on a regular basis, and drive sales for your current and future books. This is Podcasting Authors, and now here’s your host, Joshua Rivers. Season 1: 10-part series on how to podcast to supplement your work as an author 000: About this podcast and host 101: Getting Started: your why, your audience, podcast title, etc. 102: Media hosts, artwork 103: Choose your podcasting format 104: Planning your podcast 105: Podcasting equipment 106: Recording and your recording environment 107: Editing your podcast 108: Publishing and promoting your podcast 109: Website and SEO for podcasting 110: Enlisting help for your podcast